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Vogelsong continues to inspire with career

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Anybody who knows Ryan Vogelsong's saga can sense that it would inspire anybody trying to succeed, in or out of baseball.

The Giants right-hander has realized this. During the offseason he was featured in a handful of speaking engagements, including a fundraiser at Octorara Area High School, his alma mater, in Atglen, Penn.

Vogelsong found that perceptions of him differed from the reality of his humbling experience. The 2011 National League All-Star, who was the Giants' leading winner in last year's postseason, had to remind his audience that he didn't seem destined for athletic success.

"People don't really know the whole story, or it's told differently from someone else," Vogelsong said Saturday. "I go back there now and people think I was this great high school player and that's not true. I had to tell them I got cut from just about every All-Star team there was. I wasn't the best player on my high school team."

Ultimately, Vogelsong's message hit home with listeners.

Said Vogelsong, "I had people come up to me two, three days later and say, 'My son was a baseball player. He stopped playing and now he signed up again.' Even to that level, it's gratifying to be able to reach people."